Good afternoon, Parliament Monsters,
We're almost to February! Isn't it astounding how quickly the days have passed? Of course, we can't end our dream-themed month of January without posting about Morpheus. The Greek god of dreams himself, Morpheus was said to have the ability to create and transform dreams, through which he would communicate with mortals.
“I’m Morpheus.” He flexed his shoulders, exposing a pair of large, black wings behind him.
Morpheus. I knew that name.
“And you’re...?” He slid his hand against the wall, leaning over me with a charismatic grin. It reminded me of a clip I had seen once on YouTube; a handsome actor from a Japanese drama pressed his hand against the wall beside his love interest and made her swoon. If he was going for something like that—it wasn’t going to work. Well... maybe a little. Only I wasn’t swooning, I was sweating and nervously hoping I could find the right time to escape.
“Summer,” I managed, sliding away to put some distance between us. “I-I’m Summer.”
“You’re a human at that.”
Clearly he wasn’t. But I didn’t voice that fact. Instead, I nodded. He chuckled and crossed his arms against his chest. It was then I noticed that he too was dressed in similar looking clothes as Thanatos; black with silver adornments. Only, he wore a small diadem around his silver head.
“I didn’t expect him to succeed in bringing you here,” he said softly, shaking his head. “I suppose the dreams I provided helped to inspire him... and you.”
“Dreams?”
He raised a brow as he watched me closely.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“M-Morpheus…?”
“God of Dreams,” he continued.
“Dreams?” I echoed.
Morpheus slowly nodded and leaned against the wall beside me. He was tall and graceful in all of his movements. There was something worldly about him—something calm and comforting.
“My brothers and I send dreams to the human realm,” he began, “And while they can only affect the mortals, I do have a hand in the dreams given to kings and heroes. And sometimes, if I’m feeling generous, to other gods and goddesses.”
“Dreams?” I asked again.
He began to chuckle and shook his head. “I don’t know what Darce was thinking in bringing you here. The Underworld is no place for a mortal.”
“I’m dreaming now,” I managed, shaking my head. “I’m almost sure of it.”
“You’re not,” Morpheus said, laughing. “My dreams are well better crafted.”
His slim fingers plucked a small feather from one of his wings and ran it along my temples. A pleasurable shiver ran down the length of my spine as I watched his dark eyes widen. A haze filled my mind as I watched him strangely transform into Darce. Darce with large, black wings. He leaned forward, brushing his warm lips against mine. I didn’t know how to react; I had wondered what it would be like to kiss him, even if I hadn’t allowed myself to think on it for more than a moment. His hand was gentle as he cupped my cheek and drew me closer to him as his lips moved gently over mine. He tasted tangy—like a sweet citrus. The warmth of his wings wrapped around me—inviting me to feel comforted and safe. In that moment, I knew without a shred of doubt I was loved. That I was worthy of his love.
I could see an entire history shared between the two of us like a painting. The colors of our life swirled around me, as if he were merely stroking the blank canvas with a wide array of paints. I could feel his dark eyes watching me, his soft lips pressing against my temple in each new scene. I could feel myself slipping
farther and farther into the warm, budding haze. Everything about this stranger was perfect. Everything about this man was all encompassing... and strangely—mine.
As his lips left mine and began to trail to my ear, I heard him whisper, “...my dreams are much lovelier... like this…”
I blinked and found I was still a far distance away from Morpheus, and Darce was gone. He had never been here. My body had been awoken by nothing more than a tease from the God of Dreams.
Morpheus was smiling as he watched me, and slowly lowered the feather away from my temple. I sucked in a breath of air. None of what I had just seen or experienced had been real. As the colorful haze disappeared, I was left feeling cold... empty. Alone.
“Rest well, Summer,” he said with a smile as he turned and opened the door of the library. Before he disappeared entirely, he murmured, “I have a feeling you might be seeing me in your dreams again, very
soon.”
"What if you were the missing piece in one of the world’s most epic legends? Despite being an art history student, Summer isn’t thrilled to be stuck with her archeologist family all summer in Greece. While the rest of her college friends are posting a million selfies by the pool together, Summer is stuck alone, trying to entertain herself alone in a place where she doesn’t even speak the language. Upon her arrival to Greece, strange dreams and even stranger shadows seem to haunt Summer, leaving her to ponder the meaning of pomegranate seeds and twisted, darkened faces. Suddenly, her stay abroad leads to tragic twists, leaving Summer in the arms of a dark stranger, who claims to be the god, Hades, whom she feels like she knows from another life. In a whirlwind through the busy streets of Athens, Summer is seduced to the lowest point of Greece where Hades’ lair awaits…the Underworld. Determined to find out who she is and where she belongs in an age-old myth, Summer joins Hades to discover that the secrets about her past life are beyond anything she could have ever imagined."
This blurb is from Goodreads—be sure to add Blinding Night to your TBR list! And check out other works by Chantal Gadoury, over at The Parliament Press.